1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention is in the field of dental composition delivery systems and, more particularly, in the field of dental syringes.
2. The Relevant Technology
In the field of dentistry, dental compositions are often delivered through a syringe. While some syringes contain only enough composition for a single application, other syringes contain enough composition to be used a plurality of times on a single patient or on a plurality of patients.
One benefit of multi-dose syringes, over the single dose syringes, is that they are generally more cost efficient. One drawback of multi-dose syringes, however, is that they are susceptible to cross-contamination. Another drawback includes the difficulty of ensuring the syringe is properly sealed between uses to prevent undesired leakage and evaporation or premature curing of the composition within the syringe. For instance, the tips of existing syringes are typically sealed closed with threaded or friction fitting caps. However, there is a risk the closure caps will not be sufficiently tightened onto the tips of the syringes between uses because the existing syringes do not include means for indicating when the caps are sufficiently sealed or tightened onto the tips of the syringes. Yet another problem with multi-dose syringes is that the syringe caps or lids can easily be misplaced or lost, thereby preventing the syringes from being adequately sealed. When the cap is not sufficiently sealed on the tip of a syringe then the composition within the syringe can leak, evaporate, or prematurely cure, thereby minimizing the cost advantage of purchasing the larger capacity multi-dose syringes.
Single dose syringes provide an improvement over the multiple dose syringes for at least minimizing the risk of cross-contamination. However, single dose syringes can also be susceptible to undesired leakage and evaporation or premature curing of the dental composition contained therein. In particular, the closure caps placed over the tips of existing single dose syringes can become dislodged during shipping, storage, and other periods of nonuse, thereby enabling the composition to leak or evaporate.
Accordingly, in view of the foregoing, there is currently a need in the art for improved syringe delivery systems and, more particularly, to syringe delivery systems that are configured to reduce leakage and evaporation, or premature curing during shipping, storage, and other periods of nonuse.